OPENING NIGHT FILM
OPEN TO PUBLIC, FREE ENTRANCE, Thursday, 24/09 MKC/Cinema Frosina 19:00
Laghat - An impossible dream
Italy, 2025, 105'
Director: Michael Zampino
Andrea, as a teenager, was considered a very promising jockey but, after the death of his mother, he abandoned the tracks of the racetracks. A chance meeting with Tony, his former trainer at the San Rossore horse riding school, leads Andrea to believe he can return to the promising jockey he was. Unfortunately the only horse Tony is willing to give him is Laghat, an exceptional thoroughbred but with a serious eye impairment. A sporting and human challenge begins for Andrea, a path of moral rehabilitation that will make him mature not only as a jockey but as a man. Thanks to this special horse…
FEATURE FILMS IN COMPETITION
OFFICIAL SELECTION, Friday, 25/09 MKC/Cinema Frosina 12:30
Skateboarding Is Not For Girls
North Macedonia\Croatia\Belgium\Slovenia, 2026, 79'
Director: Dina Duma
When a conservative tradition of bridal sale becomes a solution for a financial family problem, Adela dives into a completely new world where she gets caught between traditional and modern values.
Adela (11), a Romani girl from Skopje, lives in a ghetto with her mother and older sister, Zara. When her family faces a financial crisis, Adela’s mother is sure that the only solution is to sell Zara at the bridal market. Adela can’t accept this destiny for her older sister and takes matters into her own hands. After a few unsuccessful attempts to find a job, she decides to join a skateboarding contest even though, in her culture, skateboarding is frowned upon for girls. The only way she can learn how to skate and have a chance to win the contest is if she befriends the gang of skater girls from her school. Adela starts navigating between the two different cultures, where she finds herself caught between two very different models of femininity.
OFFICIAL SELECTION, Saturday, 26/09 MKC/Cinema Frosina 12:30
Broken Voices
Czech\RepublicSlovakia, 2025, 106'
Director: Ondrej Provaznik
It’s the early 1990s and 13-year-old Valerie, a gifted novice singer, is given the chance to become a member of a world-famous girls’ choir, taking her place alongside her older sister and her other rivals in the ensemble. Everything points to the fact that Valerie’s exceptional talent has caught the attention of the formidable and much admired choirmaster. This psychological drama calls to mind not only the notorious case of Bambini di Praga, but also other devastating situations involving the clash of innocence and abusive authority.
OFFICIAL SELECTION, Sunday, 27/09 MKC/Cinema Frosina 12:30
The Otter
Montenegro\Bosnia and Herzegovina\Italy, 2025, 87'
Director: Srđan Vuletić
Hana is a shy sixteen-year-old girl, secretly in love with a schoolmate from the local duo Luka & Balša known from social media. Suddenly, Hana loses her father. While the family argues about what a "proper" funeral looks like, Hana faces her mother’s inability to resist the demands of men. Disappointed and confused, Hana runs away to the lake. There a new disappointment awaits her.
Hana very quickly realizes that Balša is not just a boy with whom she shares mutual feelings. An emotional mess arises, outbursts of jealousy and hidden violence in the triangle with Luka and Balša. Hana is offered a choice: whether to stay silent about what happened or to finally take a stand.
OFFICIAL SELECTION, Monday, 28/09 MKC/Cinema Frosina 12:30
Malavia
Italy, 2025, 96'
Director: Nunzia De Stefano
Sasà, a thirteen-year-old boy from the outskirts of Naples, spends his days listening to rap music with his two best friends. Raised by his single mother Rusè, the two share a deep bond, but it is tested by jealousy, poverty, and the pressures of a difficult environment. A lover of hip-hop with great musical talent, Sasà dreams of becoming a famous rapper so he can provide his mother with a better life.
An encounter with Yodi, a well-known figure in the Neapolitan old-school rap scene, gives hope and momentum to Sasà's dream, leading him to compose his first real track: a rap song dedicated to Rusè. However, faced with the tough realities of the music industry, will Sasà be able to keep working towards his aspirations, or will he turn to crime and risk losing everything?
OFFICIAL SELECTION, Tuesday, 29/09 MKC/Cinema Frosina 12:30
Defiant
Finland, 2025, 93'
Director: Visa Koiso-Kanttila
She was deemed broken by a broken system.
Defiant is a gritty and intensive drama about Vilma, who is struggling in her new blended family and ends up in a group home for teenagers. The institution is run by an ambivalent director, whose arbitrary treatment Vilma refuses to accept. Is there any other solution than to submit or run away, and who is ultimately worthy of trust?
FEATURE FILMS IN JUNIORS COMPETITION
OFFICIAL SELECTION, Friday, 25/09, Cinematheque 10:00
The Second Diary of Paulina P.
Croatia\Slovenia\Serbia, 2025, 79'
Director: Neven Hitrec
It's been a while since the last movie about Paulina P. and our heroine is now already eleven yearsold! Although the adults keep telling her that this is the "best part of her life", it doesn't seem likethat at all to Paulina. In the fifth grade, she will have to face professor Mirković, a strict andindomitable geography teacher, as well as Marta from the class 5D, Paulina's first bully. As if thatwere not enough, she will soon discover that her dear grandmother Ljerka suffers from an unusualand incurable disease. Fighting the troubles that life brings, Paulina will once again use herstrongest weapon, charm and vivid imagination, but also learn a valuable lesson-that life is notonly about winning.
OFFICIAL SELECTION, Saturday, 26/09, Cinematheque 10:00
When Parents Turn Divine
Czech Republic, 2026, 105'
Director: Adam Hobzik, Jan Chramosta
Two siblings from the 7th century awaken after a thousand years in today’s chaotic world. They find themselves in an unfamiliar environment full of technology and rules they don’t understand. But they are not alone – ancient Slavic gods awaken as well, taking on unexpected forms by inhabiting the parents of their new friends. An ordinary family becomes a source of bizarre situations as the “divine” parents begin to behave very strangely. The four children must join forces, bridge the gap between past and present, and find a way to save their parents. This adventurous fantasy comedy blends Slavic mythology with modern reality, playfully exploring clashes of cultures and generations. It offers a playful, visually engaging story about family, friendship, and the power of cooperation.
OFFICIAL SELECTION, Sunday, 27/09, Cinematheque 10:00
King of The Wanderers
Netherlands, 2025, 88'
Director: Janne Schmidt
When Meissy’s (11 year old) father reappears in town after years of absence, the girl is thrilled: she believes she finally has the opportunity to meet him. Against the wishes of her mother Lucy, she goes to visit him secretly and is enchanted by his wandering and colorful life, a precarious existence but full of fantasy, origami cranes, and special encounters on the streets of the city.
Gradually, however, Meissy begins to realize that man has a dark side, which Lucy has always tried to protect her from. Her father, in fact, suffers from schizophrenia and suffers from severe hallucinations and delusions of grandeur. Will Meissy be able to come to terms with the harsh reality?
OFFICIAL SELECTION, Monday, 28/09, Cinematheque 10:00
The boss and the cutie (Rosanero)
Italy, 2023, 96'
Director: Andrea Porporati
At 40 years old, Totò is a rising boss of Neapolitan organized crime, while Rosetta is a little girl in fifth grade. One day, Totò gets a bullet straight to his chest. At that very moment, Rosetta takes a nasty fall off a swing and hits her head. They are both rushed to the hospital for surgery and fall into a coma, but when they eventually wake up, something feels very different. Big and scary mafia boss Totò is now in the body of a sweet little girl who loves ballet, and little Rosetta finds herself trapped in a gangster's body.
SHORT FILMS IN COMPETITION
The Mole
By Marco Santoro
Italy, 14'
Fabio (unemployed, fed up and, at thirty, not feeling so young anymore) is singularly obsessed with one thing: trash. After spending months hopelessly reporting illegal dumping in his area, he has an idea. Together with a crew, he pretends to record TV reports around the neighborhood highlighting the problem, in the process becoming a hero to the aggrieved residents. In a city where everything seems stuck, is a revolution possible?
Tiger's Smile
By Stella Fachinger
Germany, 7'
Sixteen-year-old Leni grows up in poverty, shaped by her mother Jana’s alcoholism and constant financial worries. When mother and daughter go to return their collected bottles at the local supermarket, Leni runs into her classmate Sophia. Sophia belongs to a clique of wealthy girls who, unlike Leni, seem to drift through life without a care. She greets Leni kindly, but when her eyes land on Leni’s mother, Leni thinks she sees a flicker of judgment. Shame creeps in - for her mother, for the meagre groceries ahead, and for the alcohol that, as always, will end up in the cart by the liter.
In The Name of The Son
By Nikolay Dimitrov Urumov
Bulgaria, 19'
Police inspector, loyal to the law, is confronted with his most personal trial: how much of himself he is willing to sacrifice to save his son from the consequences of a crime.
A compelling drama that explores loyalty, responsibility, and the difficult choices that arise when duty and family collide.
Bratiska
By Gregorio Mattiocco
Italy, 16'
Hlib, a Ukrainian refugee living in Italy, lives with his little brother Vlad in precarious economic conditions and with no interest in integrating into society. When a teacher shows up at their house one day to discuss their report card, Vlad pretends that he is a social worker, taking advantage of the fact that Hlib does not know a word of Italian.
Cinema Rialto
By Antony Petrou
Cyprus, 15'
In a fading village cinema in Cyprus, siblings Aviana and Aenea spend their Sundays with their grandfather Petros, the Rialto’s retired projectionist, who continues to run the weekly matinee despite his failing memory. For the children, the cinema is a second home, a place of ritual, wonder, and escape. When they discover a hidden room filled with relics of a forgotten local superhero, Professor Proton, they secretly screen his long-lost film. Soon, the magic of cinema spills into reality: characters step out of posters, childhood fantasies come alive, and Professor Proton himself emerges from the screen.
SHORT FILMS IN JUNIORS COMPETITION
The Champion's Mural
By Massimiliano Pacifico
Italy, 11'
Naples, 2025. A film production company is preparing a movie about the murals dedicated to Diego Armando Maradona. The crew begins holding auditions to find one of the young men who will star in the film. This event becomes an opportunity for redemption for many of them, a chance to escape a reality often marked by crime.
Milo
By Daniele Fabietti
Italy, 15'
Milo (9) hates his freckles so much he tries erasing them following an online tutorial. His mother discovers this and, unable to reach him, changes approach. She takes him to the sea and she tells him a legend about an Atlantis map hidden in the pattern of the freckles. Though skeptical, Milo joins a treasure hunt leading to something more precious.
Saba
By Liron Topaz
United States, 10'
In an abstract and symbolic world where gravity is reversed, a unique bond forms between a grandfather and his grandson. As Saba, the grandfather guides the boy through this surreal reality, a violent storm strikes, tearing one of the ropes anchoring their home - and with it, their life together. After suffering a devastating loss of Saba, the boy embarks on an emotional journey in search of closure.
Candy Bar
By Nash Edgerton
Australia, 6'
A young girl thinks a man in the candy bar line looks like her dad.
Siren
By Marilou Caravecchia-Pelletier
Canada, 15'
On the eve of an important synchronized swimming competition, Mathilde is drowning in glitter and pressure. She must choose between shining for others or blossoming for herself.
ANIMATION SHORT FILMS COMPETITION
Everblind
by Camillo Sancisi
Italy, Spain 15'
We are in a dystopian future where the world as we know it no longer exists. Altea lives in a clearing she is forbidden to leave, where she is forced to follow daily rituals imposed by her “creator” - rites deemed essential for the survival of the human species. The final ritual requires her to surrender her sight: only by becoming blind can Altea truly “see” the world for what it really is, thus becoming an adult and purifying her soul. But first, Altea has one last goal: to discover what lies beyond the clearing.
Cinema Rialto
by Antony Petrou
Cyprus 15'
In a fading village cinema in Cyprus, siblings Aviana and Aenea spend their Sundays with their grandfather Petros, the Rialto’s retired projectionist, who continues to run the weekly matinee despite his failing memory. For the children, the cinema is a second home, a place of ritual, wonder, and escape. Soon, the magic of cinema spills into reality: characters step out of posters, childhood fantasies come alive, and Professor Proton himself emerges from the screen.
Cat's Cough
by Vid Muškinja
Croatia 9'
When a corrupt ruler—a greedy pig surrounded by loyal canine enforcers—murders his mother over an unpaid tax, a young cat is forced to flee his hometown. Ten years later, he returns as a skilled gunslinger determined to confront the tyrant who destroyed his childhood. While the townspeople remain trapped in fear and unwilling to challenge oppression, the cat sets out to restore justice by challenging the pig to a final showdown.
It's Quiet Now
by Flaka Kokolli
North Macedonia 6'
On a cold April morning in a small village beneath the mountains, Milena hurriedly packs what remains of her family’s life as distant echoes of war creep into her home. With her young son Jovche, she leaves behind a house filled with memories, children’s toys, and a fragile sense of normality. Walking through narrow streets crowded with silence, the encounter with the neighbors who look like shadows to her and Jovche’s friend Arben becomes a wordless goodbye to the life they once knew.
Barbed wire
by Sepideh Eghbali
Iran 7'
A lonely piece of rusty barbed wire in an uncleared minefield encounters a kite blown in by the wind.
He tries to connect with the frightened kite - until its owner arrives, and the wire must choose between holding on and letting go.
A Princess' Guide to Fairytale Love
by Violette Avouac
France 7'
Princess Lucette hires a dragon to stage her own kidnapping —only to discover that forging fairytales is trickier than it seems.
Witch and frog
by Anastasia Provotorova
Russian Federation 2'
A young witch wannabe wants to learn some magic, so she decides to study with an experienced sorceress. She shows up at her place — but things don’t exactly go as planned.
Wondermiss
by Ružica Nikolić
Serbia 1'
The film Wondermiss uses the form of a sketch and frame by frame animation as an opportunity to actually "make silence" and draw attention to something ordinary, anything that we usually step over without noticing. Because it is insignificant to us. But in a world cleared out of meaning, in time without signs, without names, without memories, without appeal .... in one moment, we „break on through to the other side “, and everything becomes important to us. And each of us chooses what to strive for and who our attention will meet. Whose call will you respond to?
Baldies - What About My Hair?
by Eliška Soffer Podzimek
Czechia 10'
Baldies - What About My Hair? is an animated adventure short film that follows a group of brave kids who battle cancer. Inspired by a real-life experience. The animated short film tells the story of a fearless bunch of kids who fight for their health after meeting in hospital among the beeping machines. A kid with cancer is still a kid - they want to laugh, play with friends, and go on adventures. Baldies use the power of child imagination, gentle humor, and clever metaphors to create an uplifting and inspiring narrative about a tough topic. “Show the world that bald is cool”, sing our heroes who never have a bad hair day!
Backstreet Birds
by Gertrūda Nemčauskaitė
Lithuania 7'
It's an ordinary evening in the neighbourhood: the residents are at home, quietly watching their TVs. Just like everybody else Penguin loves spending time on the screen, alone and undisturbed. However, a new neighbour Pigeon moves in and he likes different things - a good party. Without knowing how to share limited resources, birds start a fight that leads to only one way - catastrophe.
Student Short Films Competition (High school students)
Not Just Kicks
by Una Finn
United States 4'
The life of a lonely pair of shoes, from brand new to worn in.
Melted
by Aly (Li Yeen) Aw
Malaysia 3'
Reaching Seventeen
by Maria Kovaleva
Armenia 12'
When a photo of his first love resurfaces online, a thirty-year-old car washer searches for the childhood diary behind his autobiography, confronting the illusion of a happy past undone by his parents’ divorce.
Needs recycling
by Shodruza Makhmudovna Djurayeva
Uzbekistan 2'
The film explores the chain reaction of human indifference. Set at the doorstep of a school—a symbol of purity and education—the waste left behind is not just trash, but a reflection of a flawed mindset as the distance between our current actions and a sustainable future. It’s not just the world that needs recycling; it’s us.
A Wooden Heart
by Ulaş Çetin Köreken
Bulgaria, Türkiye 10'
On a summer’s day, Eylül (12), Mert (12), Yıldız (7), and Defne (12) play a game with a red camping chair during a family picnic. But the game is interrupted by an adult’s careless intervention. The children fall silent and retreat into their own inner worlds. Then Yıldız comes across an old wooden heart on the ground. They gather around it and begin to whisper the secrets they’ve been keeping inside one by one.
Tree of Life
by Jana Bedić
Croatia 6'
The Tree of Life is a poetic experimental short film that explores the relationship between memory, existence, and time. Narrated by a spectral voice drifting through the misty landscapes of a swamp, the film blends voice-over, rhythmic music, and cinematic imagery of nature to visualize inner emotions and transformation. The film blurs the boundaries between past, present, and future while contemplating human transience and our connection to the natural world.
Don't Be Silent - Report harassment
by Frosina Zahda
North Macedonia 2'
Don't Be Silent follows a woman's journey from childhood inspiration to the reality of gender-based discrimination and harassment. Combining symbolic storytelling with statistics on violence against women in North Macedonia, the film exposes the barriers women face and calls for greater awareness, equality, and a society where every woman can realize her full potential.
Sara's world
by -
Croatia 3'
A student is in a classroom with other students during a long break. There is a commotion. She sits down at the computer. The colors on the computer are dark. Symbols of possible dangers on the Internet are displayed for a long time in dark and warning colors. The student walks down the same street on her way to school, and the colors around her are similar to those on the computer, dark. The student enters the classroom again during the break, the colors are initially dark and then, after a few conversations with the students in the class, they become similar to those at the beginning again.
student Short Films Competition (Primary school students)
Once Upon a Time at the "Giacomo Bresadola" School - 10m
by Vittorio Caratozzolo & Class 3A
Italy
Le Avventure di Golbro
by Achille Pierattini
Italy
Bzz Bzz
by Katarina Jakus, Lana Leljak
Croatia
Traffic jam
by Karlo Vrdoljak
Croatia
Clean sea one way or another
by Jakov Bosnić, Luka Ćirić, Fran Rivić, Karlo Vrdoljak, Tin Narančić, Vid Car
Croatia
Wool
by Tonka Krnić, Simona Sermazi, Eva Boras, Lena Burušić, Gabriela Đurinski, Niko Karaula, Tibor Avdagić, Juraj Škovrlj, Mihael Šoštarić, Duje Mandić, Juraj Car
Croatia
Invisible
by Ajda Gajski, Ian Tai Starčević, Lorena Stanković
Slovenia
When Mistakes Come to Life
by Tija Bogovčič, Director Lea Zofič
Slovenia
The Little Seed of a New World
by 18 children of 9 years
Belgium
1863: American Blood
by Leo Kahn
United States
ITALIAN SHORT FILMS
A Golden Chance
By Federico Russotto
Italy, 15'
The dust rises in gusts over the sun-scorched countryside. Three boys stare at a hole in the ground. The youngest clutches a gold chain in his hands; the other two persuade him to bury it. That land is miraculous - a golden tree will sprout, they will become rich, they will live in luxury. The boy trusts them, and the gold chain drops into the hole. The miraculous earth now covers it.
Il Fotografo
By Marco Sommella
Italy, 12'
Italy, 1918. Amid the Spanish flu epidemic, Mario, a photographer, captures with his loyal friend Otto the shattered families in their final gesture of love. The car radio delivers ever darker news. Then one day, something changes: the man who has photographed so many farewells must now confront his own…
A place we know
By Arianna Prencipe
Italy, 13'
At a fragile turning point in his life, Andrea receives an unexpected message that sets him on a treasure hunt through memories and hidden clues. As he retraces shared moments with his playful and loving grandfather, a promise resurfaces. An intimate journey through memory and love, where letting go becomes a way to hold on and to say goodbye without losing the ability to smile.
The Breakdown
By Guido Chiesa
Italy, 8'
En route to Northern Italy for grandfather's 80th, a family’s happy journey is halted by a sudden, inexplicable car malfunction. While the mother reassures the children, the father tries to pinpoint the cause of the problem, quickly losing his temper. Until another car stops in the opposite lane.
Living Souls
By Adam Selo
Italy, 9'
In a not-too-distant future Naples, a young man illegally crosses the deserted city for a personal mission.
Interference
By Flavio Bulgarelli, Massimo Bulgarelli
Italy, 14'
A young man finds himself caught in a telephone interference with a stranger. What begins as a romantic phone call soon turns into a desperate attempt to save her life.
The last fish
By Anne-Marie Marte
Italy, 13'
After discovering that fish no longer exist, little Fede is convinced he has seen one in the sea. Determined to prove it, he sets out alone in search of it among the rocks and waves. But the chase soon turns into a dangerous test, revealing his vulnerability and the deep bond that connects him to his mother.
A Girl Is a Gun
By Ludovica Galletta
Italy, 6'
Gabrielle, a newcomer to a strict ballet school, can't dance because she doesn't have the right shoes. The teacher's pink high heels glow in the corner, and Gabrielle explodes into an intimate, fi erce dance.